GOVERNMENT OF NIGER FOOD REQUEST

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000725 SIPDIS EEB/TPP/ABT/ADP FOR JANET SPECK ACCRA FOR USAID/WA DAKAR FOR USAID/FFP AND OFDA ROME FOR FODAG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EAGR PREL NG SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT OF NIGER FOOD REQUEST REF: (A) NIAMEY 470 (B) NIAMEY 446 ¶1. The Government of Niger requests 60,000 tons of rice and 15,000 tons of wheat. ¶2. Following is post's unofficial translation of a dipnote from the Nigerien Foreign Ministry dated July 21: Complimentary opening... and requests the Embassy to transmit to the appropriate authorities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture a Nigerien government request for assistance under the "Food for Progress" program. The Ministry would like to indicate to the Embassy that, in the framework of the assistance program for countries eligible to request it, and responding to certain criteria, it requests that the U.S. government provide a grant of 60,000 tons of rice and 15,000 tons of wheat, for a period of three years beginning in 2008. That aid, when provided to Niger, will be used to for efforts to fight the high cost of living and improve national competitiveness, through the sale at subsidized prices of rice and wheat, and the use of the receipts to finance that program. Complimentary closing. ALLEN